


Honey, I'm Home (and I Have a Beard)

by soul_writerr



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Barba's barba, Domestic, Episode Related, Episode: s21 e13 Redemption in Her Corner, Episode: s21e11 She Paints for Vengeance, Established Relationship, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Married Life, Rafael is back from Iowa, with a beard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22653820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_writerr/pseuds/soul_writerr
Summary: Sonny misses his husband a whole lot, and when Rafael surprises him and comes home, he's very interested in The Beard.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 28
Kudos: 114





	Honey, I'm Home (and I Have a Beard)

**Author's Note:**

> Chey and I have been talking about Rafael's ass and Sonny's reaction to it for three days, and the fandom as a whole has a lot of strong feelings about Barba's barba, so I had to do something about it. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Sonny had been going through the Netflix catalogue for about fifteen minutes when he heard it; the tell-tale click of a key being inserted into the front door, then the sound of it unlocking. He immediately sat up, setting his beer bottle on the coffee table as he turned to see his husband walking into their apartment.

Despite the primaries being over a couple of days ago, Rafael had said he’d need to stay a little longer to tie a few knots before he came back home, and he hadn’t even given Sonny an specific day -- but here he was, pulling his luggage behind him, a huge smile on his face in all its bearded glory.

“Surprise,” Rafael said, his nose scrunching in delight. 

Sonny immediately rounded the sofa and went to him, opening his arms with a smile of his own. “I can’t believe you’re back,” he said, hugging his husband tightly, burying his nose in Rafael’s hair. “Welcome home, Raf.” 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for your first trial,” Rafael said, voice muffled into Sonny’s shoulder. “But Liv told me you were fantastic.” 

“It started off a little rough,” he pulled back to look at Rafael. “But you know Liv, she had the pep-talk at the ready, and we got there in the end.”

“So humble,” Rafael chuckled, resting a hand on his cheek. “She also told me something about a resignation letter?”

Sonny shifted, looking sheepish. “Yeah, like I said, it was rough. I thought…,” he sighed. “I couldn’t help but wonder if I had made the right choice.” 

“Do you want to talk about that?,” Rafael asked softly between them, never stopping his shows of affection as his other hand started caressing Sonny’s back.

“Not right now,” Sonny said with a dimpled smile. “I just wanna be with you.”

Rafael leaned in then, his hand still on Sonny’s face, and kissed him. Sonny immediately threw himself into it, surprised by how Rafael’s decision to grow his beard added sensation to their kiss. He hummed, pleased, as he felt the coarse texture of facial hair rubbing against his chin so, so slowly it almost felt like a tease of a touch.

Sonny deepened the kiss, parting his lips with a soft grunt, yearning for the touch of Rafael’s tongue against his. He could feel Rafael’s beard brushing his lips as they opened their mouths, and his arms involuntarily tightened around Rafael at the sensorial stimulation. He could feel it tickling the tip of his nose, brushing his lips and scratching his chin. 

He tilted his head to the side, trying to explore the different ways he could experience the beard; every new brush of hair again his soft, naked skin brought on a new spark of sensation that made Sonny shiver a little, and he couldn’t help but wonder how it’d feel against other parts of his body. Just the thought of that made Sonny moan shamelessly into Rafael’s mouth. 

“Hold that thought,” Rafael breathed against Sonny’s lips when they parted to take in gulps of air. “I really need a shower. I’m too sticky and grimy to enjoy you groping me.” 

Sonny chuckled, nuzzling their noses together, then moving to brush his cheek against Rafael’s beard. “Are you going to shave?”

“Do you want me to?,” Rafael asked, smirking so deviously Sonny almost took his mouth into another round of deep, wet kisses.

“Not yet,” Sonny replied, full of intent, nipping at Rafael’s bottom lip for good measure. “You hungry? I can make you a plate while you shower.”

Rafael huffed. “I succumbed and had some of their awful airplane food, but I wouldn’t mind a snack and a glass of Scotch.”

Sonny pecked him on the lips. “You got it,” he smiled and, when Rafael turned, Sonny slapped his butt playfully. “I missed that gorgeous ass, baby.”

Rafael threw his head back in a loud laugh, then shot him a sultry look over his shoulder. “The  _ vulgarity _ ,” he teased. 

“You know I’ve got no class, Raf” Sonny joked, shrugging. 

“Yeah, I don’t know why I married you,” he said, adding an extra swing to his step as he made his way to their bedroom.

“I’ll remind you later,” Sonny promised, cocking a hip to the side.

“Can’t wait,” Rafael winked at him, then disappeared down the hall. 

Rafael came back out half an hour later, warm and soft. He came up behind Sonny and hugged him tightly around the waist, watching with a delighted hum as Sonny added a thin drizzle of olive oil over two bruschettas. He served Rafael two fingers of neat Scotch and turned in his arms, a permanent smile on his lips.

“Here you go,” he offered the glass, and Rafael immediately took it, sipping happily. Sonny leaned down and tucked his nose right under his husband’s jaw. “I missed you so much.” 

The arm that was still around him tightened. “I missed you, too. You have no idea how much I wanted you there with me.” 

Sonny made a cooing sound, pressing a kiss to Rafael’s skin. “And I wanted you here as co-counsel.”

Rafael chuckled lightly. “You don’t need me, love. At least not as co-counsel.”

“I absolutely do need you,” Sonny protested, pulling back to look at Rafael. “I always need you, and I’m happy you’re home.” 

Sonny knew he was pouting, but the past week he’d been wondering if he’d have struggled so much with his first trial if Rafael had been around. He took a guess that the answer was probably not, because Rafael knew all the right ways to get him out of his head. 

Rafael would probably have told him to find a way to get the defendant on the stand before Olivia suggested it - before he almost tanked the case and  _ almost _ hit send on that resignation letter. 

“You won the case,” Rafael said fiercely, like he was reading his mind. “And you learned something valuable.”

Sonny ducked his head. “And what would that be?”

“That you’re  _ good _ ,” he said, proud. “You’re great, and you don’t need me around for pointers or tips. You made the right choice, love. You’re right where you should be.”

When Sonny kissed his again, tender and deep, Rafael tasted like fresh mouthwash and Scotch, and that mix, along with the familiar warmth of Rafael’s mouth, felt like Sonny had just come home himself - even with a surprise beard in between. 

**Author's Note:**

> Next time we see Rafael, do you want him with or without the beard?? [eyes emoji] Let me know in the comments!! <3 and don't forget to leave a little kudo pwease!!


End file.
